How long have U been with someone with being married?Is it just a piece of paper

I was with my husband for ten years before we got married . For the longest time that was how we looked at it , it seemed an awful lot of money to spend on one piece of paper when you take in how much it cost to have a wedding and all . My cousin used to tell me that it was different but she couldn't explain how the paper could possibly make the relationship different . In the end we did get married and have been married for seven years and I have to say that I did find it made a difference . Not sure how I could explain it in words but somehow we seemed closer then we had been in years . And just knowing what we had went through to plan the wedding somehow connected us even more .